Defense Department Official and Two Others Arrested on Espionage Charges Involving China

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Tai Shen Kuo, age 58, and Yu Xin Kang, age 33, both of New
Orleans, Louisiana, and Gregg William Bergersen, age 51, of Alexandria,
Virginia, were arrested today on espionage charges related to the passage of
classified U.S. government documents and information to the government of the
People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Both Kuo and Kang were charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to
disclose national defense information to a foreign government, in violation of
18 U.S.C., Section 794(a) and (c). Bergersen was charged in a separate
complaint with conspiracy to disclose national defense information to persons
not entitled to receive it, in violation of 18 U.S.C., Section 793(d) and (g).

Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; U.S.
Attorney Chuck Rosenberg of the Eastern District of Virginia; and Arthur M.
Cummings, II, Executive Assistant Director of the FBI’s National Security
Branch, made the announcement today. Bergersen and Kuo are scheduled to make
their initial appearances in federal court in Alexandria today. Kang will make
her initial appearance in federal court in New Orleans.

“Today’s prosecution demonstrates that foreign spying remains a serious threat
in the post-Cold War world. The conspiracy charged in this case has all the
elements of a classic espionage operation: a foreign government focused on
accessing our military secrets; foreign operatives who effectively use stealth
and guile to gain that access; and an American government official who is
willing to betray both his oath of public office and the duty of loyalty we
rightly demand from every American citizen. Such espionage networks pose a grave
danger to our national security, and we should all thank the investigators and
prosecutors on this case for effectively penetrating and dismantling this
network before more sensitive information was compromised,” said Assistant
Attorney General Wainstein.

U.S. Attorney Rosenberg stated: “Those who compromise classified national
security information betray the enormous responsibility and trust placed in them
by our government and the American people.”

According to court documents, the criminal conduct spanned a two-year period
from January 2006 to February 2008. Kuo, a naturalized U.S. citizen and New
Orleans businessman, gathered national defense information on behalf of the
government of the PRC.

Working under the direction of an individual identified in the complaint
affidavit only as “PRC Official A,” Kuo cultivated friendships with Bergersen
and others within the U.S. government and obtained from them -- for ultimate
passage to the PRC -- sensitive U.S. government information, including
classified national defense information. Much of the information pertained to
U.S. military sales to Taiwan.

Bergersen, a Weapons Systems Policy Analyst at the Arlington, Va.-based Defense
Security Cooperation Agency, an agency within the Department of Defense, was
charged with being the source of the classified information collected by Kuo.
Kang, a citizen of the PRC and a Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States,
served as a conduit of information between PRC Official A and Kuo.

Meetings between Kuo and Bergersen took place at various locations in Northern
Virginia, Charleston, South Carolina, and Las Vegas. On some occasions,
Bergersen received undetermined cash payments from Kuo in exchange for
information and documents he provided.

Kuo and Kang each face up to life in prison if convicted of conspiracy to
disclose national defense information to a foreign government. Bergersen faces
up to ten years in prison if convicted of conspiracy to disclose national
defense information to persons not entitled to receive it.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI. The Air Force Office of Special
Investigations (OSI) provided substantial assistance and cooperation throughout
the course of the investigation.

The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Neil Hammerstrom
and Aaron Zebley from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of
Virginia, and Trial Attorney Ryan Fayhee from the Counterespionage Section of
the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

Criminal complaints are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is
presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.